Zero's Haunting Hour
by Dlbn
Summary: When Yoji and Natsuo try to make the school's Haunted Corn Maze field trip a little more interesting, they find themselves biting off more than they can chew. *VERY late Halloween fic*
1. Zero and Corn Mazes Don't Mix

Dlbn: Here it is! My Halloween fanfic I didn't finish on time but want to still post anyway because I worked hard on it!

Nbld: This was intended as a one shot, but since it's 66 pages long in Word, we're going to make it a two-shot. I'll post both chapters tonight just to get them out.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and non-canon characters. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money from writing this.

000

He hadn't planned on spending the Friday before Halloween stuck in a cheesy haunted corn maze with his friends, running from people in crappy costumes and wielding weapons that sounded as fake as they looked. Yet here he was, listening to Yuiko squeal in fright and laughter, and trying to help Yayoi keep as up as his asthma was kicking in. The spectacled neko pulled out his inhaler and used it while they ran.

"Can we stop soon?" He asked. "On top of the bridge?" He pointed to a tall wooden structure with a platform over the top of the maze.

"Yeah, once we're up there." Ritsuka sighed. "Why did we agree to this?"

"Because the school got everyone in discounted." Yuiko grinned. "Yuiko…er… _I_ think it's kind of fun…but I'm still scared!"

"I didn't think you'd like these kind of things, Yuiko-chan." Yayoi said, taking a puff from his inhaler.

Seeing there was no fun to be had with a sick kid, the teenager in costume chasing them gave up and slinked into the corn to frighten some younger kids on the other side of the trail.

She blushed. "I never used to." She admitted. "But my cousin took me to one once and shouted back at everyone that popped out and screamed at us. It was so funny, I wasn't able to be scared! I just think of that now, and I'm fine!"

"That's good." Ritsuka offered, looking around the fork in the maze. "Where to?"

" _Anywhere_ else? I'm _bored_." Yoji complained, folding his arms over his chest.

"What's wrong, Yoji? Not scary enough for you?" Natsuo chuckled. "Last I checked, you weren't a big fan of horror movies. I swear you hid your face during ninety percent of _Saw_ _III_."

"Natsuo!" Yoji complained, slapping his partner. "You swore you wouldn't tell anyone that…"

"You seriously got scared enough to hide, Yoji?" Ritsuka laughed. "I'd pay to see that…"

Yoji growled at him, shaking a fist. The ravenette merely batted away his friend's hand, wiping laughter tears from his eyes.

"Come on, before something else comes." Yayoi wheezed. "I don't think I can handle being chased again…"

"I don't think you can handle the _stairs_ either, four-eyes." Yoji giggled.

"Keep it up and I'm paying someone to come to school on Halloween dressed as Jigsaw."

Yoji's ears went red, making the others laugh.

"Yuiko, you're tallest. What way is the bridge?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Um…" Yuiko stood on her toes and searched, putting her hand over her eyes as if it would help. "I think it's this way." She pointed left. "What do you guys think?"

"We're following _you_ because you're the tallest." Natsuo pointed out. "Just tell us where it is."

"Well…that is…its…er…I _think_ it's…" Yuiko bit her lip.

"Let's just go." Ritsuka nodded his head left. "Your first instinct is almost always right, Yuiko."

"Right!" She beamed. "Let's go!"

She took off running, making Yayoi sigh as he and Ritsuka started to go after her.

"Hey, you're not _that_ mad, are you, Yoji? I was just teasing." Natsuo poked his twin's cheek with an index finger.

Yoji pushed him away. "Of course, I'm not mad. Idiot." He huffed. "I'm so _bored_. This isn't as haunted as I thought it would be."

"Eh, they can't do anything major because of crybabies like Yuiko." Natsuo jutted a thumb towards where their friends had run off to.

"Who somehow likes this kind of thing." Yoji rolled his eyes.

"Say, Yoji?"

"What?"

"How about we have a little fun?"

Yoji didn't miss the mischievous sparkle in the Fighter's eye as he smirked. "What do you have in mind?"

On top of the bridge, Yuiko looked around for the twins, noticing about halfway up that they weren't with them. Yayoi was leaning on the guardrail for support while he tried to catch his breath. Ritsuka stared impatiently at his watch as he tapped his foot and folded his arms.

"Leave it to them to not follow the group." Ritsuka complained. "I give them five minutes and I'm ditching them."

"They can handle themselves." Yayoi pointed out.

Screams rang out from the other side of the bridge. Yuiko shrieked and latched onto Ritsuka as the screams got closer.

"Someone sounds really scared!" She cried. "Or hurt!"

Four girls from their school, one being Ritsuka's newly transferred cousin Maiko, rushed up the stairs and stopped at the top of the bridge, shivering and huddling together as they tried to catch their breaths.

"Oh, it's you." Ritsuka deadpanned.

"Don't be so happy to see us, Aoyagi." Amane, the leader, scolded.

"Was that you three screaming?" Yayoi asked. "I didn't think the maze was _that's_ scary…"

"It's _not_." Amane replied.

"At least, it _wasn't_!" Maiko complained. "It was lame and the people chasing us were boring as hell. But then something just changed."

"Changed?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow, tail swaying. "Like what?"

"The guy chasing us just stopped and stood there." One of the other girls stated. "We were like um okay, what the heck? And suddenly he just started _laughing_. Like this _really_ super creepy laugh! And he swung his fake sword at us."

"I didn't think anything of it, but look!" The fourth girl held up her arm to show a deep gash and blood pooling out.

Yuiko gasped and took a step back, hands flying to her mouth. "They're not allowed to hurt people! And the weapons are _fake_!"

" _That's_ why we screamed." Maiko informed. "We just ran up here as quick as we could. They're not supposed to follow people up here, either. These are safe zones."

Ritsuka peered over the railing to see if the person the girls had been chased by was around. Sure enough, a man in a Jason mask with a machete was pacing around under them, growling under his breath.

"It looks like he's still following that rule." He informed, stepping away when he saw the man's head start to move to look up.

"This is insane. Why would they do this?" Maiko complained. " _Kids_ are here, and…"

More screams popped up from different ends of the field.

"Help!" A boy cried. "The knife's real!"

"Leave me alone!" A girl cried. "Mommy!"

The girls all began screaming, shouting frantically at one another, wondering what to do. Ritsuka rubbed his temples.

"Where the hell are Yoji and Natsuo?" He asked.

"I think we have bigger issues then…" Amane paused. "Oh god, they don't know what's going on, do they?"

"I have a feeling _they're_ what's going on." Ritsuka groaned. "Bad things happen when they're bored. Troublemakers. I should tell Nagisa…"

"Who?"'

"Oh…er…their mom…"

Close enough.

"You can do that later. You think they gave people real weapons?"

"No, but they'd be the type of people to find people who are good _actors_ and get them in here to mess with our heads."

Not to mention all the mischief they could and would cause with their spells.

Footsteps quickly approached, the kids on the bridge going tense as more people climbed up to join them.

"Told you we'd make it!" A little boy shouted, pumping his fist. "Nyeh! Can't get us up here, creepy!" He stuck out his tongue at whoever had been chasing him and the other kids with him.

An older woman came up the stairs last, pulling another child with her that was desperately attempting to get away.

"Mei, stop it." She complained. "Until we know what's happening, you can't go off on your own."

"I swear, I can _take him_." Mei complained back, trying to pull the woman's hand off her wrist. "You're not my mom, so stop acting like you can control me!"

"Back to this again?" The woman sighed. "Please…"

"Mommy, there are other kids here." The little boy who shouted earlier informed, tugging the woman's sleeve. "Maybe they know what's going on."

"Are you kids okay?" The woman asked, finally letting go of the struggling girl's arm.

"Hey, Aoyagi." The girl greeted Ritsuka as she rubbed at her sore wrist. "Long time no see."

"Oh." Realization hit Ritsuka quickly. She was the Fighter of his brother's Fighter's best friend. They'd fought once. "Hey, Mei."

"You _know_ her?" Maiko asked.

"It's complicated." Mei replied, pulling her orange hair into a ponytail.

"Are you kids okay?" The woman asked again.

"We're fine, ma'am." Yuiko stated.

"Speak for yourself!" The girl showed the woman her arm. "Look! One of those guys got me!"

"Oh dear." The woman paled. "They can't hurt people, can they…?"

"Looks like they're willing to attack people, but they're not coming up here." Yayoi pointed downwards. "So they're still following _that_ rule."

"Well, thank heavens for that." The woman sighed. "Has anyone tried to call for help?"

"My phone is dead." Maiko offered.

Most of the kids offered up the same excuse, though Yayoi admitted he'd forgotten his at home. Ritsuka pulled his out to try and use it, but his service bars were missing.

"No service." He stated.

"When did _you_ get a phone?" Maiko asked. "Your parents can afford that?"

"You live in a closet in dad's guest room. You have no room to talk." Ritsuka snorted.

She huffed, flushing as she turned away. Good, hopefully that would keep her quiet long enough that Ritsuka could _think_. While the others discussed what to do, Mei joined Ritsuka's side and pulled him away a little.

"Tell me you felt it, too." She whispered.

"Felt what?"

"That surge?" She asked. "Someone cast a _really_ powerful spell…"

"My bet's on Zero." Ritsuka sighed. "They were bored and that never ends well…"

"What were they thinking?"

"They weren't." Ritsuka shook his head. "Um…you're a Fighter, right? So, if we need to make a break for it, you can use a spell or two…?"

"I can slow them down, maybe, but I'm not that skilled…" She flushed, pulling a sheet of paper from her pocket. "But Akame gave me a new list of spells to study, and I think one or two paralyze the opponent." She handed it to him.

He looked it over. "I guess so?"

"Right, not a Fighter." She sighed. "Where's yours?"

"Ran off with my brother and Akame…"

"Ouch…"

"Is your Sacrifice around?"

"Mimuro? Nah, I came with my foster family. I didn't want to, but _she_ made me." Mei glared disdainfully at the woman with her. "I think he's at his cousin's Halloween party with Akame, but I could be wrong."

"Good, I don't want him here. Akame, I meant."

"You and me both." She snorted. "Helping me train is one thing, but the guy's a creep. Not to mention how _weird_ Mimuro acts around him…"

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Ritsuka put his hands in his pocket. "What do you think we should do?"

"Me?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Uh…well…er…"

"You wanted to go after the guy without a plan?"

"I use my surroundings in my spells, if you'd noticed when we fought." She snorted, folding her arms across her chest. "I'd come up with something on the fly."

"And if it didn't work?"

"Well…er…"

"Figured." Ritsuka sighed. "Can you call Mimuro?"

"No service."

"Not like that…"

"Oh…right…" She sighed. "That would make him bring Akame, but I _guess_ I should alert him that my life is in mortal _danger_ here."

"Right…"

"Try Agatsuma."

"Our bond isn't that strong."

"Try anyway. You never know."

Ritsuka tried calling the blonde in his mind, feeling his end of the bond shimmer in response, but it died when it reached the end of the bond wrapped around his leg.

"I don't know why you hide that." Mei stated. "It's not like anyone else can see it but people like us."

"I don't want people bugging me, either."

"Point." She sighed. "I tried, but he's ignoring me. I'll try again in a bit."

"Right."

They went back to the conversation everyone else was having, the others never having noticed that either of them were gone from the conversation.

"We can't stay up here all night." Amane complained, rubbing her arms against the cold. "We have to do _something_."

"Like _what_?" Maiko argued. "Run out there and get hurt? Or _killed_?"

The younger kids began crying at that. Their mother tried to hush them, but to no avail.

"Ugh, brats." Mei muttered.

 _Look who's talking_. Ritsuka thought.

"I don't want to admit it, but Maiko has a point. We're in danger if we just go down there."

"But staying up _here_ isn't an option either." Amane argued.

"No, it's not." Ritsuka shook his head.

"Maybe they stopped?" Yuiko twirled hair around her finger. "I think the guys below us ran off, and I'm not hearing screaming anymore!"

"It's…too quiet for my liking." Mei complained.

"Me, too." Ritsuka replied, ears twitching as he struggled to find some kind of sound.

There weren't even crickets chirping nearby, which they had been doing most of the night.

"Okay, I vote for _not_ staying up here and taking our chances in the corn." Mei offered, putting up a hand.

"Me too!" Maiko agreed.

"Me!" Yuiko called.

One of Amane's friends raised her hand, as did some of the children Mei was with.

"Okay, that's ten for go down." Ritsuka counted, including his own hand. "Who's in for staying up here?"

He counted again.

"Nine up here."

"You guys are insane." Maiko complained. "I don't want to be caught by these guys!"

"You're right. Normally in these kind of movies, the airheaded bitchy one goes first." Ritsuka chided.

Maiko's ears and tail twitched. "Watch it, cousin." She ordered.

"Children, please, we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves." The mother shook her head. "We voted fair and square to go for it."

"I think I'll stay here anyway." Yayoi stated. "I can't really run…my asthma will act up again…"

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm with _him_." Maiko moved towards Yayoi. "It's much safer up here than down there. They won't come up here."

"For _now_." Ritsuka offered. "But that could change. But stay up here if it makes you happy."

"We should find Sensei." Yuiko offered. "She'll know what to do."

"You kids are here with your school?" The mother asked. "How many others are there?"

"There's nineteen in each class." Ritsuka offered. "And two classes."

"I got this one!" One of the younger kids proclaimed. "There's thirty-eight students with them! We just started complex multiplication in math class!"

"Good for you." Mei rolled her eyes.

"Can't you have a nice word to say about anything?" One of the older girls asked. "You're always so negative."

"My parents tossed me aside like day old garbage. You try not being bitter at the world after that." Mei glared.

The girl shrunk back, apologizing.

"Mei, don't take it out on her." The mother stated.

"Taking her side as always." Mei sighed. "Whatever. Whether you guys come or not, I'm going out there. I'm not going to sit here like a coward. Who's with me?"

"I'll go." Ritsuka stated. "I wanna find Yoji and Natsuo. I have a feeling they're up to something."

"I'll go with Ritsuka-kun." Yuiko offered.

"I…guess I can go, too…" Yayoi muttered, taking another breath from his inhaler.

"Fine, I'll stay here _alone_ then." Maiko huffed.

"Your funeral."

"May as well be. Last one was Seimei's."

"Watch it." Ritsuka ordered.

"Your brother's dead…?" Mei asked. "But…how…?"

"I'll explain later." Ritsuka promised.

"Alright…?"

"Let's start going then before it's too late." The mother informed. "Are you sure you want to stay here, hon?"

"Me?" Maiko asked. "Yeah, I'm sure I want to stay here."

"We'll send someone for you." Amane hugged Maiko. "Stay safe up here."

"I will." She hugged back. "All of you, stay safe. Except Ritsuka. I honestly don't care what happens to him."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes as Mei snickered. "Let's just go…"

Ritsuka and Mei led the civilians down the stairs, stopping when they thought they heard a sound.

"Can you sense anyone?" Ritsuka whispered to the orange haired fighter.

Mei's neko ears twitched. "It's very weak, but I'm pretty sure I sense the remnants of a spell." A finger tapped her lips. "Something came over these guys, and it wasn't pretty, but it was strong."

"Great. Just great." Ritsuka groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Any idea of the origin point?"

"I'm good, Aoyagi, but I'm not _that_ good." Mei huffed, cheeks puffing out in embarrassment.

"Thanks…" Ritsuka sighed. "Better than nothing. Let's just keep moving."

"Spells?" Amane asked. "Is this some joke you two are in on?" She huffed. "That figures. How low, Ritsuka…"

" _I_ have nothing to do with it, but I have a feeling I know who _does_." Ritsuka replied. "Come on. What direction do we go in?"

"We came from that way." Yuiko pointed to the right. "Maybe we should go the other way."

"If we go the way we came, we might be able to find our way back to the beginning." Yayoi offered. "Do you remember any paths we took before that?"

"Um…no…a lot of the time we were running around to get away from people. I wasn't really looking where we were going or trying to keep track." Yuiko sighed. "Oh, wait!" She pulled a folded-up piece of paper from her pocket. "I remember! We were answering the questions to choose where to go. If we just go the opposite way the answers say…"

"We might find our way back!" One of Amane's friends giggled. "Yuiko actually did something _good_ for once! Great job."

She blushed. "T-Thank you…"

"She's aware that was a compliment _and_ an insult, right?" Mei whispered to Ritsuka and Yayoi.

"No, most likely not." Yayoi whispered back.

"She's a tiny bit naïve…" Ritsuka added as Yuiko and Amane's friends started chattering about the answers to the last question they had answered before leaving.

"Was it safe to leave that girl behind?" One of the kids with Mei asked, tugging on Ritsuka's sleeve. "What if she gets hurt?"

"That's my cousin. I don't care all that much what happens to her. She's always been rude to me." Ritsuka shrugged. "I'm sure she'll be fine if she stays up there and doesn't go off on our her now that we're gone."

"What if she does?" Another kid asked.

"I hope she's not that dumb."

The kids giggled.

"Ritsuka-kun, we have an idea." Yuiko pointed back the way they came. "We go that way to the last marker. We think the answer to the question was c."

Ritsuka took the paper she handed him. Yayoi and Mei crowded around him to see what it said.

"Looks right to me." Ritsuka shrugged.

Mei and Yayoi gave noises of confirmation. The group began moving slowly as a unit, the mother staying in the back and Ritsuka staying with Mei at the front.

"I hope we don't see any more of the scary people." One of the children said, shivering as she huddled with her mother. "I just want to go home…"

"I'm never doing this again, mom!" One of the slightly older boys complained.

"I know." She ran her fingers through his hair. "We'll get out of here soon. I think these kids have a good plan. But, Mei, you and I need to talk about all this _spell_ nonsense when we get out of here."

Mei waved her off. "Whatever." She stated. "God, stop trying to be my mother." She muttered.

"I'm sorry about your parents…" Yuiko offered.

"I don't want to talk about it. Thanks, though."

She nodded. "You're welcome."

"I think I hear something." Ritsuka informed. "Everyone stay quiet."

The group hushed, freezing in spot as they tried to figure out where the sound was coming from and if it was any threat. Corn rustled to the left, making everyone look. A few children hid behind the taller students and their mother, afraid to see what it was that was waiting for them. A group of preteens rounded the corner with a teacher.

"Oh!" The teacher at the head cried out, her hands clasped against her chest. "Ritsuka-kun! Yuiko-chan and Yayoi-kun, too? Girls? Where's Maiko-chan? Wasn't she with you?"

"Sensei!" Yuiko greeted, latching onto her. "We met up on top of the bridge. Maiko didn't want to come down with us and risk getting hurt, so she's on the bridge!" She pointed.

"Oh, my. That would be the safer place to be, I think…what about the twins…?"

"Off causing trouble, most likely." Ritsuka sighed. "They vanished on us just before all this started…"

"Leave it to them to play a prank." One of the boys snorted, adjusting his glasses carefully. "I wouldn't be surprised if they hired people just to mess with everyone."

"I think it's something else entirely." Mei informed, ears twitching "Aoyagi, do you feel that?"

"Huh?" Ritsuka wondered. "Uh…yeah…?" He closed his eyes for a second. "Yeah, it's getting stronger."

"Someone else is here." Mei snorted. "Maybe your friends are innocent after all."

Ritsuka's eyes opened. "If you believe that, you don't know Zero very well." He informed, ears twitching as a gentle ping ran through his being. "Standing here speculating isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Do you remember how to get back to the entrance, sensei?" Yayoi wondered.

"Um…unfortunately…er…"

"It's a _maze_." One of the girls with sensei stated. "Getting lost is the big _idea_ here."

"I remember where we were a few minutes ago, but everything looks the same." Sensei hung her head in defeat.

"We were going to follow the questions we answered earlier." Yuiko beamed. "If we go the opposite way that we chose, we thought we might make it back outside!"

"In theory, that could work. Unless you make a mistake." One of the boys stated.

"We didn't think of that…" The mother stated. "We just wanted to get out…"

"You found friends?" Sensei seemed surprised.

"We were running to the bridge for safety and found your students." The mom stated. "They're all very brave children."

"Thank you…"

" _First_ , we should figure out where that's coming from." Mei informed, folding her arms. "I can't pinpoint it on my own, Aoyagi, and you're useless without the blond…"

"Yeah, yeah, everyone says that." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "If we can't figure it out ourselves, we're screwed. Yoji and Natsuo won't give themselves up all that easily."

"Where what is coming from?" Sensei wondered.

The Sacrifice and Fighter ignored her.

"I have a vague idea." Mei nodded her head in one direction. "But I need to narrow it down. Whoever _that_ is, it's who's causing the problem. Any idea?"

"I don't recognize it." Ritsuka shrugged. "I've sensed Zero more than once, and that's not them."

"Then who is it?"

Ritsuka shrugged again. "I don't know, but it doesn't bode well for us…"

000

On top of one of the other bridges, Natsuo and Yoji looked around at the chaos around them. Natsuo laughed, leaning on the railing.

"This is great!" He laughed. "I didn't plan on _this_."

"You didn't do this?" Yoji wondered. "I thought we were making it more fun…"

"I was going to screw with the lighting system and cast a few spells here and there to _really_ make people scream. But this…" His ears twitched. "I don't know that battle signature all that well, but it's not ours, and it's definitely not Soubi, or anyone else we've fought up to date."

"Do you think that it could be Seimei and his dog again?"

"I doubt it." Natsuo leaned back, holding onto the railing and tipping his head back. "Seimei's got a more strangling signature. Remember how we couldn't breathe when we found him?"

"Then who the hell is it?" Yoji leaned and looked the direction that Natsuo wasn't.

Screams came from a far end of the maze.

"Yoji…"

"Yeah…?"

"Whoever it is, they're strong enough to reach the entire maze."

"And…?"

"I think we may have screwed up."

"But _we_ didn't do this."

"No. But whoever _did_ probably felt us powering up and is just responding."

"So…it's our fault no matter what." Yoji hung his head. "We just cause all kinds of trouble without meaning to, don't we?" He chuckled.

"That's our thing." Natsuo slung an arm around his brother's shoulders.

Yoji snickered. "Should we try and help Ritsuka and the others?"

"Nah, let's let them ride it out a little."

Screams popped up again, making the painless Unit laugh.

000

"I hear screaming everywhere." Yuiko squeaked. "This is terrifying!"

The younger kids latched onto one another, screaming themselves.

"Would you be _quiet_?" Mei snarled. "You're going to get _us_ caught, too!"

They screamed louder.

" _That_ did it…" Amane rolled her eyes.

"Quiet." Ritsuka ordered. "We can figure out way out of here. We just have to concentrate…"

"Ritsuka-kun, I hear footsteps." Sensei stated. "We better pick a path, and fast!"

"That way." Mei pointed. "It's coming from that way."

"Let's go back the way we came." Sensei offered. "We could have made a wrong turn, and there's no reason to not try your theory again."

"She's right." The mom nodded.

"Whatever gets us out of here quicker." One of Amane's friends stated.

The others agreed one by one as they began walking back the way the others had come, hoping they wouldn't run into anything.

"Mei." Ritsuka pulled her back with him. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" She asked.

"I can't get a hold of Soubi. He hasn't answered me since he left with my brother." He shook his head. "But I know you can get ahold of Mimuro."

"Huh? Of course I can. My Sacrifice wouldn't hide form me, regardless of how much fun he's having with Akame."

"Fun and Akame don't go in the same sentence, but alright." Ritsuka laughed. "Anyway, can you get him here? Our phones don't work, but…"

"My bond does." Mei grinned. "Good idea…what's your plan after that…?"

"If he waits for us at the entrance you can follow your bond to him, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I can." She nodded. "I see where you're going with this. I'll see what I can do. Don't let me get separated when I try and call him."

"I won't." Ritsuka nodded. "I've got your back."

She nodded. Ritsuka could see her bond shimmer and the air prickle with her battle signature.

 _Mimuro?_ She called her Sacrifice. _Are you there? Please tell me you can hear me. It's an emergency._

 _ **Huh? Mei?**_ He responded. _**Aren't you at the corn maze?**_

 _That's the emergency, Mimuro. Something's happened. All the workers were supposed to have fake weapons, and they weren't allowed to make physical contact with us. But somehow their weapons are real. They've cut some people. People are screaming all over the place here. I've run into Aoyagi and his friends. We're trying to get out…_

 _ **Seimei's there?**_

 _No, baka! Ritsuka!_

 _ **Oh…are you alright? Have you been hurt?**_

 _I'm fine. But please, Mimuro, Aoyagi and I can both sense something. I don't know who it is or where it's coming from. I need help…_

 _ **You want me to come into the maze? Nisei is with me. I won't leave him at this party alone.**_

 _I don't care! Bring him if you have to. We can't find our way out. If you wait just outside the maze, I can follow my bond to you. I don't think I can take them on my own. Zero is here, but Aoyagi doesn't know where they are. Help…please…_

 _ **We're on our way. Hold on for me, please. Don't get hurt. Or I swear to god…**_

 _I'll be_ fine _. Don't you make threats at me, Shinonome._

 _ **Yeah, yeah. See you soon. Stay safe. Protect Aoyagi. I don't need his brother flipping his lid on us if he gets hurt.**_

 _Yeah, you got it…Mimuro…Seimei's not dead…right…? Th-their cousin…said something and Ritsuka mentioned his funeral. But…we had lunch two weeks ago!_

 _ **It's a long story, Mei, and I'm not going to tell it now. We can be there in twenty minutes. Just try and stay alive until then. Can you stay safe on a bridge?**_

 _Yeah, we can, but the others want to keep moving._

 _ **Noted. Just do what you can. See you soon.**_

 _Thank you…Mimuro…_

Mei shook her head and came back to reality as they approached another maker. The kids were all looking at Yuiko's paper, trying to answer the question.

"Well?" He asked.

"He's coming. With Akame." She sighed. "Please, Aoyagi, I don't like him either, but I have no choice. Mimuro won't leave him, and we may need backup."

"Right now, I just want to find Zero and get to the bottom of this."

She nodded. "I agree."

"This way!" One of the boys called, pointing down a pathway.

Ritsuka and Mei joined the group walking away from the marker.

"Aoyagi…" Mei grabbed her head. "A-Ah!"

"Mei!" The mom called, kneeling at her side. "Are you okay?"

"It's happening…again…that power surge." Mei grabbed tightly to Ritsuka's arm. "Can you feel it?"

He nodded, scratching at his head near his left neko ear. "Not as much as you can, though. Are you okay?"

"A-Ah…yeah…" She shook her head, rubbing at her temples. "I'll be fine…Mimuro's on his way…we'll be out of here shortly."

Sirens wailed in the distance.

"Someone called for help somehow." Shinonome sensei grinned. "Oh, I hope workers come in and help us…"

"Hey, I see a bridge." Amane pointed. "Maybe we can get on top and look around and figure out where to go from there!"

"Great idea!" Her friend cheered. "Come on, guys!"

The sixth graders started running.

"Are you sure you're okay, Mei?" The mom asked her. "Do you need medicine?"

"No, I'm fine." She brushed her away. "Let's just follow them so we don't get split up."

She nodded, grabbing the hands of the two smallest kids and leading them the same way the others went. Ritsuka and Mei huddled close together, keeping their voices down as low as they could.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Whoever cast a spell earlier cast it again." She shuddered. "I feel like we might have bigger problems coming our way…"

Ritsuka heard the shrill sound of a chainsaw powering up and slowly turned.

"Uh…Mei…"

Her ears dropped when she turned. "I hate it when I'm right."

The man holding the chainsaw had a very realistic werewolf mask on. His hands were claws that flexed against his weapon. He threw his head back and howled like a wolf.

"That was almost too convincing…" Ritsuka paled.

"It was more than that…" Mei replied.

"G-Guys…?" Ritsuka asked.

They turned to see the rest of their group standing and staring in pure horror at the man watching them. Its eyes glistened as he howled again, powering up his chainsaw and taking a couple steps forward.

"Run!" Amane and her friends shrieked.

The mom hurriedly picked up the smallest kids into her arms and took off running with the rest of the group.

"This can't be happening!" One of the boys complained.

Ritsuka and Mei brought up the rear.

"To the bridge! Hurry! Come on!" Amane cried out.

"We're not going to make it!" A child shouted.

He looked over his shoulder at the person chasing them. His clothes were ripped and bloody, and his shoes were missing. Ritsuka got a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched it run like hunched over.

"I don't think that's a man in a mask…"

"You think that spell made these guys _real_?" Mei asked.

"There's no such things as spells!" The mom called. "Stop living in a fantasy world! Please, just for now! We have to m-make it!"

"Fantasy world?" Mei wondered. "This is my life here! Screw this!"

She stopped and turned.

"Mei, no!" Ritsuka grabbed her arm. "It's not worth a fight!"

"There's not going to be a fight." Her eyes glistened. "Conceal! Walls! Enclose around us! Stalks protect us from the enemy!"

The corn husks began growing, twisting and turning around one another in the form of a barrier behind the group.

"But…how…?" The woman asked.

"Great job!" Ritsuka beamed. "You really _do_ know how to use your surroundings."

"Just because I have a different battle method, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with it!" She grinned. "Come on. We don't have much time. That thing might be able to cut through. Barrier!"

Mei and Ritsuka broke through the group in a run. It took a few minutes for the shock to wear off and the others to run with them. The chainsaw revved and the sound of it cutting through corn husks cut through the air.

"What now?" Ritsuka shouted.

"We hurry our asses to that damn bridge and get up top!" Mei answered. "Come on!"

Amane turned to look behind them. "Whatever you did is wearing off…I can see him coming through!"

"Faster!" Mei ordered.

"This is too scary!" Yuiko complained. "I want to go home! I want mommy! I want daddy!"

"We'll be o-out so-soon, Yuik-ko…" Yayoi panted, grabbing at his chest. "My…asthma…"

He slowed down. Ritsuka stopped in his tracks and turned around, rushing back towards his friend.

"Aoyagi! What do you think you're doing?" Mei complained.

"I'm not a Fighter. I'm of no use to you without Soubi!" He called. "But I can stop my friends from falling behind!" He grabbed Yayoi by the elbow. "I know its hard, but if you slow down, you're going to be in danger again."

"Can't…b-breathe…"

Ritsuka grabbed his inhaler from where it stuck out of Yayoi's right front pocket. "Take a couple puffs. Do whatever you have to do. Just don't stop _moving_." He ordered. "Mei! Lead the way! Take down anything that gets in our way!"

"I'm not going to take orders from you, Aoyagi, but just this once, you have a point." She groaned. "Come on, let's go!"

The others shared a look but followed the young girl anyway.

"I can breathe…b-better…" Yayoi informed Ritsuka. "But now you're stuck here with me…I'm s-sorry I'm so w-weak…we're in danger because of…me…"

"This isn't your fault." Ritsuka gripped him by the shoulders, shaking his head. "Don't give up now. That thing is almost through Mei's barrier. We need to get moving."

"Y-Yeah…" Yayoi coughed, squeezing tight to his inhaler. "I'm f-fine…"

Ritsuka caught sight of a child's tail vanishing around the corner. "They've made a turn. Come on."

He pulled Yayoi by the hand, trying not to hurt him as they ran to catch up. The sound of the chainsaw started getting louder. Yuiko screamed.

"It's so close!" She complained, pointing back towards the creature.

"Barrier!" Mei called.

An invisible block went up, stopping the creature in its tracks.

"She bought us time." Ritsuka informed Yayoi. "Come on."

the sound of grass cracking and then shattering cut through the air. Ritsuka and Yayoi stopped, turning and staring in horror as Mei's barrier exploded into crystal shards and the creature came through.

"Oh…" Yayoi gulped.

"Shit." Ritsuka added.

They shared a brief look and started running again.

"I see the bridge!" Sensei called.

The mom pulled started up the stairs with her kids, some of them tripping over themselves and other staking two steps at a time. Mei stopped to help one of Ritsuka's classmates that had tripped over another one. Shinonome stood at the bottom, helping guide people up the stairs.

"Come on, everyone, hurry! To safety!" She called, helping a child who almost tripped up the steps.

"Barrier!" Mei called, staying at the bottom with the teacher to keep an eye out for the creature breaking through again.

"Go!" Sensei ordered.

"No way! I got this!" Mei cried. "Aoyagi! Hurry up! It's getting closer!"

Ritsuka pulled Yayoi with him. "I can see the steps. We're almost there."

Yayoi panted, gasping for air and gripping at his chest. Ritsuka squeezed tight to his hand.

"Please don't hate me for this."

"For what?" The asthmatic preteen wondered.

"This."

Ritsuka pulled his arm back and through the other forward, letting him go and sending him crashing against the steps.

"Ow!" Yayoi groaned.

Sensei and Mei helped him to his feet.

"Aoyagi, come on!" Mei begged. " _Please_!"

The chainsaw werewolf howled as it swung its chainsaw like a boomerang and threw it at the almost teen.

" _Aoyagi_!" Mei called out.

"Ritsuka-kun!" Sensei shrieked.

Ritsuka ducked, the chainsaw sailing over his head. The two at the base of the stairs squealed and ducked, covering their heads as the chainsaw imbedded itself in a guardrail for the stairs.

"Come on!" Ritsuka grabbed them both by the arms as the creature snarled in anger.

Mei pulled from him and rushed up the stairs. Sensei tripped a few stairs up, letting go of Ritsuka's hand.

"Sensei!" He called.

"Aoyagi! Get up there! To safety…!" She struggled to her feet.

"Not without you!" He argued, going back down to grab her and help her up.

"Aoyagi, please…!"

"Mei!" Ritsuka shouted.

At the top of the steps, she stopped and turned.

"Uh…uh…d-defense…! Barrier!" She cried. " _Corn_!"

"Invincible shield!" A familiar voice cried from on top of the bridge. "Form and protect our friends!"

"Natsuo…" Ritsuka grinned. "He is so dead…"

Sensei got to her feet just as the creature swiped at her, its hand getting caught in a crystal-like shield that appeared at the base of the stairs. Ritsuka pulled her with him as he rushed up more of the steps. The creature swiped, but couldn't reach up any further.

"We're safe." Ritsuka panted as he and Sensei fell to lay against the stairs.

"T-Thank you…A-Aoyagi…k-kun…" Sensei panted. "You saved me."

"I couldn't let you get hurt." Ritsuka smiled at her. "Come on. Yoji and Natsuo have explaining to do."

They helped one another up and started up the stairs, hand in hand. A hand reached out for him.

"Come on, Aoyagi. You got guts." Mei complimented.

Ritsuka took her hand and let the younger girl pull himself and the sensei up to the top steps. He could see Yoji and Natsuo grinning sheepishly at the top, and the people with them collapsed on top of the bridge. The kids huddled together in fear. Yuiko lay her head on a blushing Yayoi's shoulder as he took deep breaths of his inhaler. Ritsuka couldn't tell if his asthma was acting up from running or from Yuiko leaning on him.

"You okay, Ritsuka…?" Yoji asked.

"You two…" Ritsuka glared. "Have a _lot_ of explaining to do! What the _hell_ was that!"

"Hey, it wasn't us!" Natsuo defended. "Hand to god, I swear!"

"God knows what your hand has done, keep it to yourself." Ritsuka ordered.

" _This_ is Zero?" Mei asked.

"Who's the girl?" Yoji asked. "And how the _hell_ does she know our name?"

"She's a Fighter." Ritsuka stated. "Akame's best friend's Fighter."

"Oh?" Yoji cocked an eyebrow. "Then…that was you casting spells just now?"

"Yeah." She nodded, folding her arms over her chest. "But we have bigger problems. That power. It isn't you?"

"No, it hasn't been." Natsuo shook his head. "I made some lights shut off and some wind, but someone responded."

"So…you didn't…" Ritsuka paused. "Someone thought you were a threat and responded…do you have any idea what's going on around here…?"

"Uh…no…?" Yoji cocked an eyebrow. "Everyone seems more frightened, but…"

"Those workers are _attacking_ people. The one chasing us wasn't even _human_!" Mei scowled. "Whoever it was that responded to you two, they made the workers into monsters. They turned civilians into…something more…" She shuddered.

"So…how do we reverse this?" Yoji asked.

"We need the original caster." Natsuo stated. "Or…"

"Or what?" Ritsuka asked.

"If you know something…" Mei threatened.

"Just a theory…whoever it is, they're trapped in here, too." Natsuo informed. "Most spells…most spells can't be undone unless battle ends or the caster retracts it. Or dies."

"We have to get someone killed?" Yuiko screeched.

"No!" Natsuo argued. "We need to get out of this maze. Police showed up, but they can't get in. There's some kind of barrier."

"So what?" Yoji wondered. "We need to get out of here, but then what?"

"I have a feeling this may end if we find our way out." Natsuo nodded his head. "It's just a theory, but powerful Fighters can emit a failsafe into their spells. You can break them by doing something specific."

"And that specific thing is escaping?"

"It's quite possible." Natsuo nodded. "But…how do we figure our way out of a _maze_?"

"Got it covered." Mei stated. "I called Mimuro. Once he gets here, I can follow our bond to him and find our way out of here."

"Great plan." Yoji's voice dripped sarcasm. "But how is he going to get close with the, you know, _police guarding the place_."

"Right…" Mei looked out into the distance. "They're all inside the farm lands. I can see the road. No barriers. As long as he's within my range, I can sense him."

"Are you sure?" Yoji wondered.

" _Yes_." She glared. "Just because I'm a kid, it doesn't make me _useless_ , Zero."

"Never said you were."

"You hinted at it."

"Good, she's learning." Yoji chuckled.

"Yoji, stop. She's…been a lot of help." Ritsuka gave Mei a small smile. "I don't know if we would have made it this far if you and your family hadn't bumped into us."

"They're not my family. I'm a foster kid." Mei corrected.

"We're still family…" The mom corrected her back. "Just because we're not blood, it doesn't mean anything, Mei. You're still…one of us…"

"Yeah, Mei." A little boy tugged at her arm. "You can do some cool stuff…and it's a little strange…but you're still our sister!"

"Um…thanks…" Mei smiled, but it quickly faded. "They're here."

"Who?"

"Mimuro and Akame." She pointed out towards the road. "That's his father's car he lets him use. He just called me."

"Your phone didn't ring…" Amane paused. "You have _service_?!"

"What? No, not via phone. We have our own way of communicating." Mei's bond shimmered.

 _ **You there?**_

 _On top of a bridge. We think we know what's going on._

 _ **Well? What is it?**_

 _Zero says they think everything will go back to normal if we just find our way out of here. Some kind of failsafe._

 _ **A failsafe?**_ A pause. _**Nisei agrees, but he's not sure. He doesn't recognize the signature, but he's going to try and look into it while I help you.**_

 _Thank you, Mimuro…_

 _ **Mei?**_

 _Yes?_

 _ **You got this. I believe in you.,**_

She blushed. _Thank you…Let's get out of here…together…_

"Mei?" Ritsuka asked.

"Akame's looking into whoever did this. He seems on board with your failsafe idea."

Natsuo snorted. "For once, the dog is useful."

"Arf." Yoji agreed.

Mei and Ritsuka shared a look.

"Mimuro's going to help us. As long as our bond is open, we can follow it out of here." Mei informed. "But some of us don't look ready to move…"

"We should rest…" Sensei offered slowly. "I know it's dangerous, and time is very important here, but we need to keep up our strength if we're going to get out of here…"

"She's right." The mom stated.

"Alright, we rest." Yoji nodded.

"What do we do about Maiko?" Amane wondered. "She's still on the other bridge."

"You _left_ her there?" Natsuo looked at Ritsuka. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "She didn't want to come with us. She thought it was safer there."

"She's an idiot…"

"I know. But she's easily spooked. She won't move until someone helps her leave. If you're right, the police can grab her later."

"Alright." Yoji shrugged. "For now, let's just enjoy the view, eh?"

Screams echoed into the night. Ritsuka groaned. Leave it to Zero to describe the horrors of the maze as a _view_.


	2. Escape Isn't A Choice: It's A Must

Dlbn: Here we are with the conclusion of this fic.

Nbld: Didn't want to wait until next weekend to post so I figured I'd do it now while I posted the rest of the Seimei's birthday fic. But let's start the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Candy and cupcakes for you both!

Promocat: Thanks! Ironically it WAS going to be just Zero's garbage that did this, but I figured I'd make it more interesting if they weren't the direct cause.

The DarkCat: Yay! Thanks. I'm just glad I got to finish it lol reading your Halloween fic pushed me to finish ^^

Disclaimer: I own nothing but plot and some minor characters. He rest belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money from writing this.

000

Fifteen minutes later, Zero, Ritsuka, and Mei led the others through the twists and turns of the maze. At a fork, Mei stopped and scratched her head.

"What is it?" Yoji asked.

"Both paths lead to the exit, but…I don't know if one is a dead end…that's the way things normally are in mazes…" Mei replied. "I don't want to make a wrong turn…"

"Where's that paper? With the questions?" Natsuo asked Yuiko.

"Right here!" She handed it to him.

He took it. "These questions are for two-year-olds…the answer is pumpkin." He shoved it at her again. "We go left."

"Are you certain?" Mei wondered.

" _Yes_."

"What of the questions were made to trick us? Like give false directions." Yoji asked.

"Don't worry me like that, Yoji, I swear." Ritsuka ordered. "This is all your guys' fault anyway."

"How is it _our_ fault?"

"If you two hadn't tried to cause trouble no one would have reacted like this!"

Yoji rolled his eyes. "If you want to get technical, it's _your_ fault."

"How is it _my_ fault?"

" _You_ wanted to come to this thing. We only tagged along to keep an eye on you. You're accident prone."

"I don't need you to protect me."

"Someone has to." Yoji held up his wrist, which had a bandage on it. "Clearly Agatsuma's failing, so I guess it's our job."

"Yoji…" Natsuo scolded with a sigh.

"You know damn well that most of my injuries come from my _mother_. I'm too careful to be clumsy and get hurt so carelessly, you know that." Ritsuka hugged himself. "But now's not the time to talk about that…not the right company…"

"Your mother…?" Sensei asked. "She…she's the one that hurts you…?"

"And he protects her like a _dumbass_." Yoji snapped.

"Shut up, Yoji, you wouldn't understand. She's all I have, alright?"

"All you have? Seriously? What about us?"

"That's different, and you know it!"

"Alright, _alright_." Natsuo shoved both of them by the shoulders. "You're both worn out. Stop acting like idiots. Fighting won't do anything to help us get out of here. Now shut up, and let's get moving before another creature catches us."

The two Sacrifices glared, then sighed. Yoji rubbed the back of his neck while Ritsuka rubbed his arm.

"S-Sorry, Ritsuka…" Yoji apologized.

"M-Me too, Yoji…"

"There. All better."

"Idiots." Mei complained. "Come on. I'm getting tired, too…"

They turned the way Natsuo suggested.

 _ **Mei? Can you hear me? I can feel you getting closer.**_

 _I'm getting tired, Mimuro…_

 _ **I know. I can feel it. Let me help.**_

 _But…how?_

 _ **Let me take away some of that exhaustion from you. You need your strength more than I do. I just need to stand here and look pretty.**_

 _Like a girl._

 _ **Shut up.**_

She laughed. _Thank you…Mimuro…I feel…better…now…_

 _ **I don't…you owe me for this, Hotarubi Mei.**_

 _My pleasure, Shinonome Mimuro._

At another fork, Mei paused, hearing rustling in the corn.

"Oh no…" One of the kids buried her face in the mom's dress.

Someone ambled out of the corn, tripping over a fallen stalk as they did so. Kids screamed.

"Will you pipe _down_?" A familiar voice scolded, a pale hand brushing midnight black hair from chocolate eyes. "Oh…thought I sensed you two nearby…"

"Akame?" Mei and Ritsuka asked at once.

"I thought you were working on finding out who cast the spell?" Mei wondered.

"I _am_ , but they keep disappearing on me." Nisei complained, standing straight. "I took a shortcut, but it appears they've gone that way." He pointed.

"So go that way?" Mei asked.

"I plan on it. this is just a road block. There's a couple creatures up ahead. The bridge to the left leads to another fork. Take it and go right. You'll be closer then."

"Thank you…"

Akame snorted. "I'm not doing this to help, understand? I'm only helping you so Seimei doesn't skin me alive later for failing to do so."

"What a faithful dog." Natsuo snickered at Yoji.

Nisei glared. "Watch it." He ordered. "I have my own path to follow. Get lost."

They watched him leave.

"What an unpleasant man…" Sensei muttered.

"Yeah, and my Sacrifice is in love with his ass." Mei rolled her eyes. "But I don't think he's going to lead us on the wrong path. Let's just try what he says."

"And if we're wrong?"

"I skin him alive when I find him again. That's not a threat. That's a promise."

000

Another resting break on top of the bridge gave Ritsuka and his friends the opportunity to look around.

"We're not far." Yoji pointed. "I can see numbers on the barn clearly now."

"Thank god." Mei complained, plopping onto the bridge. "I'm using up too much power with my bond…Mimuro is doing what he can to take some of the exhaustion from me, but…it will only work so long…"

"Shut your bond off for now." Natsuo ordered. "Let him know you're resting." He sat with her.

"Y-Yeah…good idea…"

 _Mimuro? I'm taking a break…I need to save energy. So please…let's lose contact for a moment._

 _ **I've lost contact with Nisei. Don't lose contact with me, too.**_

 _If I want to be able to keep moving, keep pushing forward, I have to. It won't be for long. We've come across him. he's the same; as rude as ever. He'll be fine. He's on the trail._

 _ **Are you sure you want to break our bond? Even for just a moment?**_

 _Yeah. I'm certain. I won't be gone long. You're not rid of me yet, Mimuro._

 _ **Good…I'm glad…rest up. I'll…try and do the same. Stay safe.**_

 _You too._

She sighed. "He's being a big baby again." She lay back on the bridge, arms under her head. "Sacrifices and Fighters are supposed to be a lot alike…you know…? Like you two…and Aoyagi and Agatsuma…"

"Soubi and I are nothing alike…" Ritsuka argued softly, sitting next to her. "There's not a thing we have in common…"

"You're both being used and abused by Seimei." Yoji offered.

Natsuo smacked him as he sat down. "That's not it, Yoji." He stated. "You're both…hurt…and looking for someone to fill that void left within you from someone who hurt you…"

"Huh?" Ritsuka asked.

"You and your mother and Seimei…Soubi and Ritsu and Seimei…there are some parallels…don't you think?"

"Not…well…I guess…" Ritsuka blushed. "D-Don't make me think about things like that…" He hugged his knees to his chin.

"You want to get out of here…and find him…don't you?" Mei asked. "Nisei is here now…he would know where your brother is…and…"

"He wouldn't help me." Ritsuka shook his head. "I have to find him on my own…it's not going to be an easy process…but…I'm willing to take the risk."

Mei smiled gently. "I'm starting to realize…" She laughed. "I don't know what I would do if…if he was gone from me like Agatsuma is from you…you're a lot stronger than I would have thought, Ritsuka…to have your heart broken so easily…but to still love the person who did that…"

"I don't know if its love, but…"

"You're willing to risk everything to find him." Natsuo pointed out. "That's love if I ever heard of it." He shrugged.

"Enough mushy shit." Yoji complained, stretching his legs. "Are you powered up enough yet? Can we start moving forward again?"

"I think I'm okay." Mei stood.

 _Mimuro? Are you ready?_

 _ **I'm here.**_

 _That…doesn't answer my question…_

 _ **Let's bring you home.**_

She blushed. "We're ready."

000

Ritsuka wasn't certain how long they'd been walking since they rested. It could have been ten minutes, it could have been an hour. He hadn't remembered his watch and his phone died after the last time he tried to call for help. Yoji and Natsuo took up the rear of the group while Mei and Ritsuka headed it, though the twins had argued they could fight since _they_ were a unit and the other two were not, but Ritsuka had convinced them that it was more likely they'd get attacked from behind again and that was the best place for them. Really, it hadn't made sense to put Mei in the back because she was using her bond to get them all out to safety. The chattering of the preteens' teeth and the quiet whimpers from the children had died down a while ago; everyone keeping their eyes and ears-both sets of ears for everyone that wasn't the mother, since Sensei had hers still-for someone to come, whether it be friend or foe. So far, most of the screams took place on the other side of the maze; nothing too close to the group for comfort. Someone had suggested splitting up into smaller group so they'd be less likely to find, but considering Mei was the only one with a tie to the outside world that they could follow right now, splitting up would only put the group she wasn't a part of into danger.

"How much further?" Amane complained. "It's getting later and later an we're still not at the exit."

"Most of the paths have two directions going the same way. I won't know what's a dead end unless I try a path. Sorry we have to keep turning around…" Mei complained.

"Do you think whoever cast the spell is messing with the maze structure, too?" Yoji's ears twitched. "Because we should be out by now, right? How far away is he? Can you tell?"

"Um…" Mei closed her eyes, almost walking into corn because she didn't realize they had to make a left next. "Not far…"

"How far is not far?" Natsuo pressed. "Come on, you'd doing good…don't screw up now!"

"Natsuo." Ritsuka scolded.

Only Zero could compliment and insult you in one sentence. Maybe that was just a Fighter thing, since Soubi was able to mention love and murder in the same train of thought, and those two didn't go together. At least, Ritsuka didn't think that they did.

"What?" He wondered. "We're close, but she doesn't know how close?"

"Are we at least closer than we were before…?" Yayoi offered.

"Yeah, definitely." Mei stated, giving a side eye back towards the twins. "It could be a few feet, it could be a few miles."

The rest of the group groaned as a unit.

"Seriously?" One of Ritsuka's male classmates asked. "Are we sure she's right, and that she's not just pretending she is to keep us calm?"

"Excuse you?" Mei asked. "You think _you_ can do better? At least I have a heading, and a connection that can't be broken. What do you guys have? Non-functioning cell phones and bruised egos?"

"Excuse you?" The boy repeated.

"C-Children, no fighting." Sensei stated. "We're all in this together…we should work together, right?"

"I'm sorry…Mei's always confrontational. I'm not surprise…" The woman sighed. "We've all been trying to get her to open up, but…"

"I'm _right here_." Mei complained. "Sorry if I defend myself when I'm insulted."

"You should be a little more patient with her." Ritsuka offered as Mei stomped forward a bit and looked around the clearing at the different paths. "I know she has a temper, but if what she said was right, about her parents abandoning her, then she's hurt. It's been two years, and I'm still mad at my brother for leaving me."

"He's dead." Amane argued. "We saw the online article."

"If he was dead, I'd be blaming god, not him." Ritsuka informed, hugging himself. "I've learned some things; none of them very pretty. But that's not the point here. The point is that she's trying to help. She knows we're exhausted and done with this and want to get out and go home as quickly as possible. She feels the same way. But arguing with her and questioning her abilities isn't going to help."

 _Mimuro? I'm in a large clearing…can you see a map of the maze somewhere? I thought I saw one before we came in…where the papers with the questions are…_

 _ **I see a place with papers you can take. I'll check there.**_

 _Hurry…_

 _ **Give me a moment, Mei. I'm right here still. I'm not leaving you.**_

She felt herself blush at that, though it was the least of her worries. At least, unlike her parents, Mimuro was there for her and cared for what happened to her. It was…welcoming. It was one of the reasons she'd fallen in love with her Sacrifice so easily.

 _ **I found the map. Tell me, Mei, what do you see?**_

 _I'm in a clearing…there are four paths in front of me…one directly to my left as well._

 _ **I see it on the map. You're close. You're almost home.**_

 _What path do I take, Mimuro?_

 _ **What do you think? Feel me reaching out to you. Hear me call for you. Where…?**_

 _Um…_ She squeezed her eyes tight and pointed down one path. It didn't feel right, so she tried again until she found one that was right. _The…second from the left…my left, Mimuro…_

 _ **If I look at the map the way you'd be looking at where you are, that's the right one, Mei. It's straight through there. Take that path. You're almost free!**_

 _Thank you…_

"This way!" Mei called, pointing. "He found a map. I described where we are. He says to take this one."

"Who says?" The woman looked worried.

"The guy that's saving our asses." Natsuo informed. "Come on, if they're both certain, let's just go."

The corn behind them rustled like someone was walking through it and stopped to stare. The younger kids screeched while the older ones held onto one another.

"We've been found again…!" Yuiko complained.

"You took too long to decide!" Amane warned.

"It might just be Akame again." Ritsuka offered. "He's not even using the paths of the maze. He's just going."

"He's reckless." Yoji commented. "Some kind of death wish, probably."

"He accepted a long time ago that he was going to die. He's not afraid to." Mei pointed out. "He knows he will, it's just a question as to how. Mimuro's certain Seimei will be his downfall, but who knows…that acceptance, that realization, might be what does him in, in the end…"

"I don't want to stand here talking and thinking about things. I just want out of here!" One of Amane's friends snapped. "Come on!"

"What if it follows?" A little girl asked.

"We can handle a couple of spellbound losers." Yoji informed.

"Go. We'll stay here in case something comes." Natsuo offered.

"If you say so, Zero." Ritsuka replied.

"This is our fault anyway, right? So who cares? Just go. We can hold them off."

"But if you don't make it out and break this in time, I'm personally coming back to haunt you until you die, got it, Aoyagi?"

"Got it." Ritsuka laughed.

"Stay safe." Sensei muttered. "Please…I don't want to lose any students…"

"You won't." Yoji smacked her backside, making her gasp out. "We got this, teach. Let us handle the sloppy part. You handle the escaping part."

"Get them the hell out of here, you got me, Mei?" Natsuo ordered. "I haven't been following the decisions of another Fighter just for you to all die."

She nodded. "R-Right…come on!"

Ritsuka let everyone else go ahead of him. "Good luck…" He told the twins.

"We don't need luck." Yoji replied.

Ritsuka smiled and darted off after the others, hoping he wasn't too far behind.

"Whatever it is, why isn't it coming out?" Yoji asked his partner. "A coward?"

The corn rustled and what looked like a skeleton came out, wielding a sickle. It stopped and stared with its black, dead eye holes. The holes closed and opened one at a time as if it couldn't blink both eyes at once.

"This is what we're up against?" Yoji wondered. "Lame."

"This will be easy." Natsuo confirmed. "You want a piece of us, bony?"

The thing grunted.

"Then come and get it!"

The skeleton person swung its sickle and advanced on the boys. They danced around with it, avoiding its attacks. Yoji tripped over corn and the sickle cut through his skin. Unable to feel it as a Zero, he barely flinched. The skeleton seemed upset and roared, slashing a few more times at him. Yoji covered his face to protect it. Natsuo picked up an ear of corn and threw it, hitting the skeleton in the head. Its head turned, barely held onto the neck, to look at him.

"Don't you even think about it." Natsuo growled. "Not my partner, you don't."

Yoji got up and picked up a fallen stalk of corn. "Say goodnight, boney!"

The skeleton turned just in time for Yoji to hit it in the head with corn. The skeleton grunted. Its eyes blinked rapidly, one after the other, before it collapsed into a pile on the ground.

Yoji snorted. "That was too easy…not my partner? Seriously, Natsuo?"

The redhead blushed, dropping the other ear of corn he was planning on throwing. "S-Shut up."

"Aw, do I really mean that much to you?" Yoji teased, poking his cheek and twisting his finger a little. "That's so cute, Natsuo."

Yoji kissed the tip of his Fighter's nose, laughing as his face changed colors.

"Come on, asshole." Natsuo ordered, taking him by the wrist. "Let's catch up."

"Yeah." Yoji agreed, nodding as Natsuo led him away.

The corn rustled as the skeleton began stirring. It got up onto one elbow and glared at the retreating preteens, crooked mouth morphing into a twisted grin.

000

Despite her protests that she was fine and didn't need to rest and announcements that they were close to the maze's end, Mei was visibly exhausted. The mother had tried to get her to listen to reason, but she refused. They needed to get out before something else could come after them. Zero had managed to get rid of the creature they had faced, but that didn't mean that it was the last one, or that it was the strongest. Ritsuka was certain they could handle themselves and fight on despite being injured since they were unable to feel pain, but he didn't want to put their lives at risk; no matter how much of this was their fault to begin with.

"Are you _sure_ we're close, Mei?" One of the little kids asked, tugging on her sleeve. "You can't know that for sure. It's a maze!"

"I can see the light from the barns getting closer." Mei informed. "We can't be too far off now."

"Ask Mimuro." Ritsuka asked. "See if he can estimate how far away we are."

"Who are you talking about, Ritsuka-kun?" Sensei asked. "There's no way to communicate with anyone outside of our group…"

Mei scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that, lady. I'm the one getting us out of here, and I know what Aoyagi's saying." She sighed. "It takes a lot of my energy to talk to him through our bond instead of follow it." She informed Ritsuka. "If I do that, I may not be able to follow him much longer…"

"I see." He sighed, defeated. "Well, at least you know we're going in the right direction."

"And now we're screwed." Yoji commented when they reached a fork. "Guess you have to find the strength to call him, kid."

She huffed. "If I do that, I can't follow the bond. And it's not like any of you can see it."

"Uh, Ritsuka, Natsuo, and I can. Duh."

"She means because it's _dark_ , Yoji." Ritsuka informed. "I can barely see my _hand_ , let alone my bond."

"What bond?"

Ritsuka glared as the twins laughed.

"Assholes." He complained. "Come on, Mei. Any idea what way to go here?"

She tapped on her lip, trying to focus on the direction that the bond was going.

"The one closer to the left." Amane offered. "If we go the other way, we're probably going back the way we came. The other way can't loop around anywhere if we're as close to the end as you think."

"Can't we just go _through_ the corn?" Natsuo asked.

"If we do that, we may not be able to break the spell." Mei scolded. "If the condition is that we have to get out of the maze, then we have to get out of it by following it to the end and walking out of the arch."

"And what if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll handle that later. Right now, we need to get out of here." Ritsuka stated. "What way do you think, Mei?"

"I don't…"

"Left." Amane stated.

"Right!" One of the kids commented. "The left could be the way we came!"

"That makes zero…"

"If we end up going out the entrance instead of the exit, we won't clear the maze anyway." Yoji complained. "So just pick a damn path and we'll deal with the consequences after."

"Or we just pray that Akame finds who cast the spell and gets it reversed…" Ritsuka muttered. 'But I don't put much faith into him."

"He's…a better Fighter than you think he is." Mei informed. "He'll find who he's looking for, most likely, but getting them to reverse it may be difficult. I mean, you and Agatsuma aren't bonded and kicked his ass when he went solo. Who knows what will happen if he comes face to face with a bonded Unit alone."

"Yeah, that's a risk he's taking and that we're going to have to deal with later. But to be fair, we won because Soubi's a better Fighter, not because Akame's just weak. Who knows how strong the people he's going after are."

"They managed to respond to our spell by putting some kid of serial killer come to life death race spell over the _entire_ corn field." Yoji informed as if Ritsuka were an idiot. "I'd say they're strong enough to handle their own against the sociopath."

"So, you see it too, hm?" Mei wondered. "Mimuro doesn't…damn idiot…too in love with the guy to realize he's a nut job."

"I wonder if that makes Mimuro a nut job as well." Natsuo snickered.

"He's okay." Ritsuka shrugged. "I only met them once, but after the battle, he was pretty chill about everything."

"Th-That's funny…" Sensei stated, shaking. "I have a cousin named Mimuro…"

'Small world." Mei replied.

"Who cares!?" Amane screeched. "What path do we take?"

"I don't know…"

"Best guess!"

"Uh…um…I'm not certain I…"

"You got this, Mei. Come on." Ritsuka pushed.

"Yeah, you can figure it out! Yui… _I_ believe in you!" Yuiko pumped a fist into the air, hair bouncing as she jumped a little.

"I'm…" Mei sighed. "I'll talk to him…give me a moment…"

 _Mimuro? I'm weak…I'm going to pass out soon…We're at a fork, and I don't know…how close are we…?_

 _ **The fork goes left and right, yes?**_

 _Yeah._

 _ **Map says to go left. If you just go that way, you'll hit another fork. Keep going straight. Don't make any turns. You'll be out as long as you keep going straight. You should be able to see the lights form the farm when you get close. You're not far now, Mei.**_

 _I don't know if I can call you again…or follow the bond again…its dark, I can't see it…_

 _ **I'll give you ten minutes to come out, and then I'll contact you. The power in the channel will be mine and not yours. Follow the bond. I'll make the new connection. That path is completely straight, though, Mei. You'll be fine if you don't make any more turns…**_

 _Okay…thank you…_

Mei shook her head, holding onto it as a bit of lightheadedness overcame her.

"Are you okay?" Sensei asked.

"I'm fine." She stated. "Just give me a minute…"

"It's been a minute…" Amane's friend offered.

"Quiet." Natsuo ordered, voice deepening. "Stop being a pain in the ass."

She opened her mouth to counter, but no words came out. Her mouth open and shut like a dying fish, making the twins laugh.

"Not funny, Natsuo." Ritsuka glared. "They're going to sense that, baka!"

Their laughter stopped abruptly. "Oops…"

Mei glared. "Left. Mimuro said to go left." She stated. "It's a straight away from there."

"Finally!" Amane sighed. "But what of…?"

"She'll be fine in like ten minutes." Natsuo waved his hand. "That was a minor spell."

" _Spell_?" Yuiko paled.

"When we get out of here, I'm so making Akame erase their memories…" Ritsuka muttered.

"Yeah, cause that worked well when he did it to you, right? Call blondie." Yoji answered. 'Oh, wait, you can't!"

"We should have left you on top of the bridge…" Ritsuka muttered. "Lead the way, Mei."

She nodded. "R-Right…"

The group took the left path and continued straight down it. at the end, they came to a blocked path.

"A straight way out, huh?" Natsuo wondered.

"God damn it…" Mei muttered.

"Mei!" The mother scolded.

"My language is the least of our problems right now!" Mei scolded. "I can't contact him again. He's going to try me in ten minutes, but I don't know if I have the strength to answer…"

"Or if we can risk waiting that longer." Ritsuka informed as something howled in the distance.

"What are we going to do?" Yuiko started to cry.

"If he's right about it being straight…" Ritsuka pushed apart some corn and peered through. "I think I can see a barn from here."

"Anything else? There should be an arch for the exit." Yayoi informed.

"I think I see something…" Ritsuka groaned. "They had the exists sealed to keep us inside. Mei…"

"We may not be able to solve this just by getting out…we might just have to… _survive_ …"

"And who knows how long _that's_ going to take?" Natsuo groaned. "This isn't a simple spell like mine. This could take hours, even days."

"We don't _have_ that kind of time!" Amane protested as the smaller kids started protesting. "What if something gets us? Your friend just led us to a dead end."

"He was looking at a map…"

"A map the people in charge made! Maybe that changed when the maze changed!"

"I wouldn't think the properties of the corn maze itself would change." Yoji offered. "But I'm no expert. Natsuo?"

"It depends on the spell. It could be part of the conditions set by the caster, or it could not be. We won't know until we talk to them, and right now, we've just got them dealing with Akame." Natsuo stated.

"So, there's no way to determine what to do next…" Ritsuka paused.

"I'd assume that it would either go away or change somehow come day time." Natsuo stated. "The corn maze is only a haunted one at night. There's nothing in here to control in the daylight like the workers.

"Who knows when daylight is…" Amane's other friend stated.

Yayoi strained to look at his watch. "It's nearly midnight." He informed. "At least, it looks it."

"Maybe it's like Cinderella and ends at midnight." Yoji snickered.

"Enough!" Mei shouted. "You two got us into this mess. Stop making jokes about it!"

"She's right, you know. You could have just done the maze as it was and went home. But no, you _had_ to try and stop yourselves from being bored." Ritsuka complained.

"Well ex _cuse_ us for wanting a little fun." Yoji complained back, arms folded over his chest. "It's not like you're doing anything here either, Aoyagi, so don't act all high and mighty on me."

"What the hell do you expect _me_ to do?" Ritsuka wondered. 'I'm a Sacrifice, and one without a Fighter at that. I'm useless."

"You got one, you're just too afraid to try and contact him." Yoji scolded. "Seriously, he ditched you in a graveyard for your brother, not up and cheated on you with your best friend and then got killed in a freak accident. So man up and give him a shout, would you?"

"Y-Yoji, that's a little harsh…" Natsuo offered. "We all know he's not going to answer, regardless of what Ritsuka does."

" _Thank_ you, Natsuo."

"It's better than just being the group cheerleader!"

Ritsuka glared. "We're friends and in danger here, so I'm going to let that slide, but shut up."

Zero chuckled.

"Enough f-fighting." Sensei stated. "We need to figure a way out of here…we don't have all night…"

"You sure you can't contact him again, Mei?" Ritsuka wondered.

"I'm certain. He's going to contact me."

"Are you…?"

Ritsuka stopped talking as he watched Mei's bond shimmer.

 _ **Mei? Can you hear me?**_

 _Mimuro?_

 _ **Good, you're there. Are you okay?**_

 _We're all fine._

 _ **I'm asking about**_ **you** _ **.**_

 _I'm okay. Tired. I want to go home…get out of here._

 _ **Did you go straight like I told you to?**_

 _It's a dead end._

 _ **That's impossible. I can sense you a lot better now. You're not far from me. I can't get closer to the corn maze, but you're standing near the exit sign at the least.**_

 _We can't see it from where we are. What do we do…?_

 _ **You might have to just go through the corn. But I know if you continue the way you were going, you'll reach us in no time. Do you feel that?**_

 _You activated our battle system. Be careful! That might set off whoever put this trap together!_

 _ **I'm sorry, but it's a chance I have to take. You're not far. Let me take some of your weariness away from you, okay?**_

 _But…I don't want you to get hurt…_

 _ **I'm just going to get tired. I'm your Sacrifice. My job is to take damage for you. Let me do this. So you can follow our bond better, and not have to wait on me. You can't just stay in there until daylight or the cops decide to go in.**_

 _They haven't yet?_

 _ **They're near the entrance, but no one has gone in. Maybe they can't.**_

 _You can see the exit, right? The open gap?_

 _ **I can.**_

 _Can you see the open gap for the entrance?_

 _ **Yes, I can.**_

 _If you can see the exit, can you see me? See the others?_

 _ **No.**_

 _There's some kind of barrier here; that's for sure. So you can see in but no one on the other side, and we can't see out at all._

 _ **It's a trick to keep you in there. Unless the exit moved somewhere, you're right there.**_

 _So if we go through the corn, the spell should be broken…?_

 _ **I'm not sure. Have you come across Nisei since the first time?**_

 _No, not once/ I can't sense him. I don't know if he's even in here still._

 _ **He hasn't come back to me, so he has to be. I just hope he's okay.**_

 _He's like a cockroach. He's not dying any time soon, and not at the hands of some two-bit magicians who use cheap parlor tricks!_

 _ **You're starting to trust him, I see. As I have come to do.**_

 _Not in the least. I trust his skill set. Not him as a person. Are you so blinded by your love by him that you can't see that?_

 _ **Let's not waste energy fighting. I'm going to transfer your weariness to myself now, alright? Do what you can to get out. Go through the corn if you have to, blast it away with a spell.**_

 _Thank you…_

Mei snapped back to reality, shaking her head. "He can see the exit. We're near it, but he doesn't see us through the corn."

"So the corn is just an illusion?" Ritsuka got closer to the corn behind her and reached out to touch it. "It feels real to me."

"Of course it does." Natsuo snorted. "It might be an illusion, but tis a spell. It's real."

"We see corn, but people on the other side can't see corn?" Amane scratched her head. "How does _that_ make sense?"

"The spell was cast just to effect the people inside, maybe." Ritsuka responded.

"No." Natsuo shook his head. "Those two got here _after_ the spell was cast. As did the police. They can't see the corn because the spell hadn't effected them. Have the police come into the maze yet?"

"He says they haven't, but he's not sure why. He sees the entrance, but maybe they can't."

"Or there's a barrier they can't get through. Could be part of the spell." Yoji countered.

"He's not wrong." Natsuo responded. "What do we do?"

"If the corn is an illusion, we can just go right through it without consequence." Mei stated. "Any objections?"

"Whatever gets us out of here quicker!" One of Amane's friends complained.

"Alright…let's do it." The mother nodded.

A loud roar ripped through the area. Ritsuka and the twins turned to look while Yuiko buried her face in Yayoi's shoulder and the others froze in place.

"What…is that…?" Ritsuka wondered.

At the end of the long, straight path, here was a creature standing on all fours like a dog. It had the head of a lion, body of a tiger, and a tail wagging back and forth like a dog's.

"Uh…I think that's what they call a _chimera_ …" Yoji pointed out. "I saw one in an anime once…"

"You're a dork; that's great." Natsuo informed. "We…should get going…"

The creature roared as some of the younger kids shrieked. They scattered around Mei, pulling their mom into the corn and rushing away.

"Let's get out of here! I hate this place!" Amane complained.

She and her friends burst through the corn as well.

"K-Kids, wait! It's not safe!" Sensei ushered the other teens, including Yuiko and Yayoi, towards the corn. She guided each of them through before turning to the Zero unit and the two solo unit members.

"C-Come on! You kids can't fight that thing…" She stated. "Let's go!"

"We'll hold it off." Yoji offered. "Just like last time. Just get your asses out of this maze and break this curse thing, alright?"

"The spell was cast because you two cast yours. I think it's the two of you that need to make it through." Ritsuka informed as the creature started to paw at the ground like it was preparing to charge.

"C-Children, quickly. We can all m-make it…"

"That thing can break through corn easily." Natsuo informed. "We need to hold it off until you're all out."

"You won't know if we are…" Ritsuka replied.

"Yes, you will." Mei nodded. "I'll stay here as well."

"Are you crazy?" Ritsuka wondered.

"No, listen. When you guys get out, tell Mimuro to call me. I can't break my concentration to ask him if you did, so he's the one that has to alert me. Once we know you're out, the three of us can follow." Mei huffed. "They can go first and I'll bring up the rear. If they need to get out to break this, then they should go first. If I'm in danger, the danger should fade once they break it."

"What if we're wrong?"

"Then I have to hope I'm a better runner than I think I am."

"Her mind's made up. Just go. The longer you stay here and chit-chat, the more danger you're in." Yoji offered.

"Get out of here. Have her Sacrifice call her like she said." Natsuo agreed. "Just don't die out there, alright?"

"R-Right…" Ritsuka swallowed. "Stay safe."

They twins nodded, ignoring him as Natsuo cast a spell for a barrier or two to construct themselves. The thing roared and charged towards the first force field.

"Go!" Mei ordered.

Ritsuka took his Sensei by the wrist and pulled her into the corn.

"Come on!"

"R-Ritsuka-kun…are we sure they…they…?"

"They'll be fine."

He heard Mei and Natsuo both cast spells.

"They'll be fine." He repeated to himself as he and his sensei tried to navigate the dense cornfield.

Some of the stalks were pushed away from the others trying to find their way out. Ritsuka heard sparks fly from the barrier being struck by the chimera creature and swallowed hard. They had to get out quickly and get to Mimuro before it was too late. That thing would descend on the others in moments.

"I think I see the end!" Sensei pointed out.

She and Ritsuka pushed against the final row of corn. A hand reached in and grabbed each of them by the wrist, yanking them both to the ground outside the corn field. The students and family they had bene in the maze with were being coddled by the police and ambulance, being given free hot drinks and warm blankets. Ritsuka looked up at who dragged them out and was surprised to see someone he thought was still in the maze.

"Akame?" He greeted.

"Whoever they were, they ran off." Akame grunted, as if that made any difference. "Where's the brat?"

"W-Who?" Sensei asked.

"Mei!" Ritsuka scrambled to his feet. "Where's Mimuro!?"

Akame pointed up towards the barn. "They made us move away, but I snuck back down here from the other side of the barn. What do you need him for?"

"S-She said to have him c-call her when we all got o-out. There's some c-c- _creature_ in there." Sensei whimpered.

"Oh, for the love of…" Akame rolled his eyes. "Pathetic. You're a sensei. Be a little stronger for your students, would you?"

"P-P-Pardon…?"

"How did you…? Never mind, I don't want to know." Ritsuka shook his head.

He started to rush up the hill as officers came over to help.

"Is there anyone else inside?" One asked.

Screams came from different areas of the corn field.

"You could say that." Akame huffed.

"Didn't we tell you to wait at the barn already, kid?"

"No, that was the other guy."

"What other guy?"

"Any other guy."

"Seriously?"

Ritsuka was thankful for the distraction, whether it was intentional or not. Stupid Akame.

"Mimuro!" He shouted, rushing up the hill. "Call Mei! Let her know we're out!"

He nodded and gave the neko a thumb up.

 _ **Mei? Aoyagi said to contact you. They're out. Him and the woman.**_

 _Thank you…we will be shortly…Mimuro…if I don't make it…_

 _ **Don't say that!**_

 _No, you listen to me, Shinonome! If I don't make it out of this, I want you to know I'm sorry for giving you a hard time and not listening, alright? Nothing against you, just I l-like you and s-sometimes…I don't think…about anything but-_

 _ **Mei? Mei?!**_

000

Mei came to her senses thanks to a slap from Yoji.

"Was that him? Are they out?" He asked quickly.

She nodded. "Y-Yes…"

"Then why are we standing here like idiots?" Natsuo wondered, grabbing the orange-haired girl and shoving her into the corn path made by the others escaping. "Get moving!"

Mei shuddered as she heard the last barrier shatter away and the creature roar as it leapt into the area where she and the twins had been standing. Yoji and Natsuo quickly pushed through the corn, using one another for support. Mei could barely hold her own as she stumbled after them, trying not to get separated since Natsuo was using spells to cast the corn out of the way and give them an easier escape. The corn behind her cracked as if it were being shoved down and she risked slowing down to look over her shoulder at the path they'd come down.

The creature had its head and half its body through, and was swiping through the corn that was still standing with its claws. It's jewel-like eyes sparkled in the starlight as it roared again, pushing harder to get through the still-standing corn stalks. Mei came to her senses as two rows of corn cracked and the creature pulled its hind corners through. She shook her head and started running, hearing the creature break out after her. She resisted the urge to scream as she forced her way down the half-path the twins had made towards the exit.

Using the last of her strength, Mei shoved her way through the last corn stalks, falling to her knees and crawling away from the corn row. The creature roared as she scampered away as quickly as she could. She heard a commotion and looked up, freezing in her spot. The creature behind her had stopped, and Mimuro was trying to get past the police to her.

"Mei!" He shouted. "Mei, are you alright?!"

She gave him a thumb up and started to stand, but her knees buckled and she fell on her stomach on the grassy hill, one arm stretched out towards him.

" _Mei_!"

Her name rang in her ears as he called her using both their bond and his own voice. Exhaustion hit her and she passed out where she was, looking like a child who'd fallen asleep on the living room floor watching a movie instead of a Fighter that was on her last leg.

Her foster mother finally saw the commotion and rushed over with her kids, pushing past the police.

"That's my daughter!" She told them when they tried to protest.

Mimuro used the distraction to force his way down to her as well. Ritsuka met him halfway with his sensei.

"Mimuro…?" She asked, reaching for him as he passed.

He was too lost in his determination to get to his Fighter to notice the elder woman reaching towards him.

"Mei…" He muttered, falling to his knees at her side.

He brushed hair from her eyes as her foster mother cradled her in her arms.

"W-Who are you…?" She asked.

"I'm Mimuro…Mei's been talking to me this whole time…"

"I don't know how you know my daughter, or how you were able to talk to her with no one hearing…but thank you…" The mother ran a hand over her hair. "Her faith in you is what got us out, I really believe that."

Mimuro flushed. "Just helping my friend, ma'am."

Pale pastel colored specks floated around in the air as the spell over the corn maze rescinded, light wisps of a fading spell rising from the corn maze itself. As Ritsuka and the others from his school crowded around the Unit and Mei's foster mother, the corn that had been blocking both the entrance and the exit to keep everyone inside faded away and only the original entrances were left.

"Everyone else can get out now." Ritsuka sighed in relief. "We did it."

"Finally." Yoji huffed. "Well, at least it wasn't boring."

"I should hit you." Ritsuka stated as the others glared.

"Who did it?" Mimuro asked. "Did you find them, Nisei?"

The raven shook his head, running a hand through his long hair as he put the other one in his pocket.

"Ah, no, I didn't. They were either close to the exit when this started and got away, or they cloaked themselves so even _I_ couldn't see through it." He shrugged. "As long as no one does anything stupid in a public haunted attraction _again_ , I doubt we have anything to worry about."

"They probably only cast their spell because Yoji and Natsuo cast one, and they thought they were in danger."

Nisei snorted. "Defensive spells. How cliché. Though, I've never seen one this advanced before…" He covered his mouth with one hand, thinking.

"YOU better not be thinking how to find them for my brother, because I swear to god, Akame, he doesn't need any more psychotic weapons on his side." Ritsuka scolded.

Nisei chuckled. "I was thinking nothing of the sort, _Loveless_."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't call me that."

"Enough." Mimuro ordered, yawning.

"Tired, sempai? You're like an old lady." Nisei teased.

"I took half of Mei's exhaustion upon myself." Mimuro glared at him. "I know your Sacrifice is too much of a selfish _prick_ to do something like that for you, but trust me, it takes a lot of energy."

"Hey, brother of the selfish prick here." Ritsuka waved at him, making him blush.

"Mother of several _very_ small children that can hear you here." Mei's foster mother scolded.

"Gomen." The two Sacrifices chorused.

"Pathetic." Yoji complained.

"Don't thin k I'm not going to tell Nagisa about this, because you know I'm going to." Ritsuka threatened.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me, Zero."

Yoji lunged as Ritsuka scrambled to his feet.

"That all you got?" He asked.

Yoji growled, getting to his feet and giving chase to the raven-haired Sacrifice.

"Get your ass back here, Loveless!"

"Don't call me Loveless!"

Natsuo chuckled at his Sacrifice's antics as the sparkles and wisps faded away. "Yo, Akame."

"What?" He asked, looking down at the redhead.

"You ever manage to learn how to _properly_ cast that memory spell?" Natsuo asked.

He glared. "I don't use it unless I absolutely have to, but if you're asking if we'll have another Aoyagi sized error again, we won't."

He jutted his finger at the fighting teens, ignoring how Yoji tackled Ritsuka to the ground. Natsuo sighed.

"You take care of that, then, will you? I have to go prevent Yoji from giving Ritsuka a concussion."

"Or Ritsuka from breaking his arm." Nisei chuckled as he watched Ritsuka twist Yoji's arm to get him away. "It's not like he's going to know its happening."

"Right." Natsuo raced towards the others. "Hey, you two! Quit it!" He ordered.

Mimuro shook his head. "Are they always like this?"

"More so than you think…" Sensei informed. "You…know this young girl, Mimuro…?"

His ears flattened as Nisei giggled, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Someone's busted." He teased.

"Shut up!" Mimuro scolded. "Uh…yea…cos…she's a friend…I was in the big brother program and we were paired…"

"Seriously?" Nisei rolled his eyes. "What a lame answer. Boring!"

"Shut up, Nisei."

"You're not Seimei. I don't have to listen to you."

"You do if you ever want to get laid…"

Nisei laughed. "Ha, I could find someone else for a night, don't tempt me."

"Boys, small children…" Mei's foster mother scolded.

"Sorry." Mimuro offered.

Nisei just shrugged, folding his arms over his chest. "Forget." He ordered. "The events of the night relating to the world of spells. Forget."

The others froze in a daze.

"What…what happened…?" Sensei asked at last. "All I remember is…"

"This young girl tripped in the corn maze." Mimuro informed. "We helped her out, but she was so tired she just passed out."

"What's with all the police?" The foster mother wondered, looking around. "Thank you for helping her…"

Mimuro smirked. "I just did what any good friend would do."

A fake howl from a worker dressed as a werewolf made the Sacrifices and Fighters pause, Natsuo on top of Yoji as he tried to wrestle him off Ritsuka.

"How scary would that be if it was real, momma!" One of the kids complained. "I want to come back next year! Best corn maze ever!"

The other kids agreed, shouting please to come back the next year. Nisei and Mimuro laughed as they and the rest of the Units recovered from the sound of the howl. Whatever helped them sleep at night. But next year, they'd make sure the Twins were excluded.

After all, those who don't learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.


End file.
